Focus on responses of advanced practice nurses to a changing health care system, especially provision of high-quality health care at minimal cost to populations with special needs. Proactive roles of nurses are emphasized for selection, implementation, and evaluation of interventions for targeted populations. As a case manager, the clinical nurse specialist uses clinical and technical expertise to develop standardized care processes, establish outcomes, identify variances, assess transitional levels of care, and act as an agent for planned change.

Prerequisite: Matriculated or nonmatriculated status in the MS degree program or permission of the instructor